Wire-feeding machine



(No Model'.)

J. H. GERRY.

WIRE FEEDING MACHINE.

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N PETERS, Plwm-Linwgmpher. waxhington, DACA UNITE Srafrns @maar erica.

JAMES H. GERRY, OF BROOKLYN, NEY YORK.

WIRE-FEEDING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 332,889, dated December22l 1885.

(No model.)

To (LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMns H. GERRY, a citizen of the United States,residing in Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in VVire-Feeding Machines,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of apparatus applied to lathes andsimilar machines for feeding wire and small rods in regulated lengthsfor manufacturing screws, pins, parts of clocks and watches, and forother similar purposes, and to means employed for tightening and holdingthe chucks.

The object of the invention is to provide reliable mechanism for thispurpose which is easily operated and which will feed the wire andactuate the chuck without stopping the machine to which it is applied.

There have been numerous methods proposed for feeding the wire inregulated lengths. In some instances springs have been employed, whichpush the wire forward when moved in one direction, and which slide uponthe wire when moved in the opposite direction. In other instancesWeights have been employed, which continually exert a tension upon thewire, and serve to carry it forward when it is released by the chuck. lprefer to employ a feed-chuck which grasps the Wire when moved forward,but releases its hold when moved in the opposite direction by reason ofits inherent resilience, so as to slide along the wire and again graspit when it is again moved for- Ward.

My invention also involves certain improvements in the construction ofthe chuck devices and the means whereby they are operated, and also inthe general construction of the machine.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a transverse section of thewire-feeder, and Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5 show certain details intheconstruction of the various parts. Y

Referring to the figures, A represents a suitable support or head-stock,upon which thevfeeder is carried.

It is designed that a lever shall be applied to an arm, a, for thepurpose of moving it forward and backward to operate the movableportions of the machine. `The arm ais secured to a sleeve, A', whichmoves upon a stationary rod, a. The rod a' is secured to the headstockabove mentioned, and at one end carries a micrometer-stop, a3, which isadjustable upon the screw-thread c4 and secured by the nut a5.Surrounding the sleeve A is a collar, b, which is provided with a lug orfork, b2, entering a groove in a collar, C, whichy will be hereinafterdescribed. It is intended that the longitudinal movements of the sleeveA shall operate the collar C by means of the fork b2.

The collar C is designed to operatea chuck, D, and may for that reasonbe termed the chuck-collar.77 This is accomplished by providing the ch uckcollar with an annular Iiange, c, having an inwardly-projectiug lug,c2. This bears upon a series of toggle-joints, each of ywhich iscomposed of two arms, e' and e2. The arm e is preferably supportedthrough aflexlble spring or extension, e3, from a rigid support, c4.

The support c* constitutes a portion of a collar, f, which surroundscertain movable portions of the chuck-operating mechanism, and isrigidly attached to the endf of a hollow` spiud le, G. The spring cnormally presses the arm e upward against the flange c'. The arm eL ispivoted to the arm e at one end, and at the other endA to a lug, d', onthe movable chuck-sleeve d. The arm e2 is thus a'link connecting thechuck-sleeve with the arm e'. The reslience of the spring e3 tends toforce the arm c outward, and thus draw back the sleeve d. The sleeve dsurrounds the split chuck D, and is provided at the end with anextension, di, which is preferably split into three parts, extendinginto an annular enlargement in hollow spindle G. The inner surfaces ofthe extension d2 are beveled to an angle which corresponds with l[heouter surfaces of the clmckjaws d3. When the sleeve d is drawn backward,the extension d2 releases the. chuck and permits it to open. When, onthe contrary, the sleeve is forced forward, the shoe tends to close thejaws di, Such movements of the sleeve are occasioned by the toand-fromovements of the collar C. When this collar is moved toward the righthand, the flange or lug c2 presses against the bearingsurface of the arme', and thus forces the IOO joint of the toggle inward, and actingthrough the link e2 forces the sleeved toward the right hand. Thebearing-surface of the arm e' is preferably fiat, so that when the lugcl is pressing it inward the spring e3 cannot force the collar C back.When the collar C is moved toward the left hand, then the sleeve will bedrawn back by reason of the resilience of the spring e3. This portion ofthe device is employed for holding the wire or rod,which is indicated atw as passing through the chuck, when it has been fed forward bythefeedingchuck H, which will be hereinafter described.

It should be here stated that the apparatus is provided with aface-plate, d", against which the front end of the chuck D strikes, sothat the movement of the sleeve d will not force the chuck outward. Acertain amount of play, however, may be given to the chuck within thesleeve or between thejaws d2, pro vision only being made that it shallnot be driven forward beyond a certain point. The faceplate d screwsupon the end of the hollow spindle G.

It has been proposed to connect a sleeve for operating a chuck with astationary support by bow-springs, and make no claim to suchconstruction.

It is evident that it is desirable thatthe chuck D should remain closedwhile the chuck H is being drawn backward to grasp the wire fartherdown, and that it should be closed after the wire has been fed forward.For this reason the collar b is loosely carried upon the sleeve A', andis engaged by suitable adjust able nuts, b3, when the sleeve has nearlycornpleted its movement toward the left hand.

For the purpose of operating the chuck when the sleeve A is moved towardthe right hand, an enlargement of the arm a strikes against the collar band forces it forward.

The operation ofthe feed-chuck H is made positive by means ofa collar,J, mounted upon the sleeve A', to which it is coupled by a screw andslot, allowinga slight longitudinal movement. The collar J is providedwith an arm, j, which grasps a grooved collar, j', formed at the end ofa movable sleeve, h. This sleeve extends within the sleeve d to the endsof the jaw h of the chuck H. The inner surface, at the end ofthe sleevel1, is beveled, as shown, and its surfaces coincide with the outersurfaces of the enlargements h3 at the ends of the jaws h of the chuckH. When the sleeveh is moved toward the right hand, it tends to closethejawsof the chuck H in preclsely the same manner as described withreference to the sleeve d and the chuck D. It is necessary, however,that the chuck itself should have a to-and-fro motion, and for thispurpose itis connected, preferably by means of a bayonet joint, asindicated at K, with a movable sleeve, lc, extending within the sleeve hand beyond the enlargement j. A spring, k', surrounds the end of thesleeve, and by being pressed between the enlargements j and acorresponding enlargement, 7a2, at the end of the sleeve k, tends todraw the sleeve and thus the chuck H backward-that is to say, toward theleft hand in Fig. 1. If the collar J be moved toward the left, then atfirst the tension of the spring k will be increased and the sleeve hdrawn back ward, thus releasing the jaws of the chuck H. After thespring has become compressed the chuck itselt will also move toward theleft hand, sliding upon the rod or wire w, which is meanwhile held bythe chuck D. The limit of the movement thus given to the chuck H isdetermined by the position of the collar J with reference to theinclosing sleeved stop a3, for the latter serves as a stop for arrestingthe movement ofthe collar. Thus by adjusting their relative positionsthelength of the feed may be readily modified. The mi-l cronieterscrewa4 permits of a very careful adjustment for this purpose. After thechuck H has thus been opened and drawn back preparatory to grasping thewire anew a still further movement of the rod a'is required before thenut b3 shall engage the collar b and operate'the chuck-collar C. Forthis reason the collar J is supported between equilibriumsprings m andm2, which surround the sleeve A and give it a determinate position.W'hcn, however, its movement is arrested by the sleeved stop a, a stillfurther movement of the rod ais permitted by the compression of tl espring m2, and this carries the nut b3 against the collar b', thuscarrying the chuck-collar C toward the left, and thereby releasing thejaws da. The parts are so adjusted that lthe nut b3 will engage thecollar b at the moment the movement of the collar J is intercepted bythe stop a?, so that the chuck H will remain at rest while the chuck Dis being released. When the arm a is again moved toward the right handby its lever, the tension of the spring c3 will tend to hold the collarC back, thus allowing the chuck D to remain open. The collar j will bepressed forward by the spring k', thus causing the sleeve h to close thechuck H and carry it forward, causing it to grasp the wire firmly andfeed it forward the required length. Vhen the forward stroke has beennearly completed, the enlargement of the arm a will strike the collar band force the chuck-collar C against the toggle, and thus cause thechuck D to grasp and securely hold the wire.

lhe chuck-tightening devices, it is evident, may be employedindependently of thefeeding apparatus and applied to various forms ofsplit-chucks, especially where such chucks are employed in working wireand rods.

The operation of the chucks and the tighten` ing'sleeve may bereversed-that is to say, the sleeve may be stationary and thc chuckdrawn back into the same.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, substantially ashereinbefore set forth, of a revolving chuck, alongitudinally-movablechuck in the` same axial IOO IIO

line therewith, means for withdrawing the second chuck from the rstchuck, means for permitting said second chuck to open before it iswithdrawn and for closing it when so withdrawn, means for thenpermitting the opening of the first chuck and for advancing the secondchuck to its normal position, and means for subsequently closing the rstchuck.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of awire-holding chuck, means for causing it to grasp and to release a wireat will, a longitudinally-movable chuck for engaging the same Wirelnormally tending to open by reason of its inherent elasticity, andmeans for causing the latter chuck to move from and toward the formerand to be open when moving from and to be closed when moving toward thefirst-named chuck.

3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of awire-holding chuck, a longitudinally-moving feeding-chuck tending toopen by reason of its inherent elasticity, a sleeve for closing thesame, and means for causing a to-and-fro movement of the feedingchuck inthe axial line of the holding-chuck.

4. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of aWire-holding chuck, a feeding-chuck normally tending to open by reasonof its inherent elasticity, means for moving the latter toward and fromthe holding-chuck, and means for causing the holding-chuck to be closedwhen the feeding chuck is adjacent thereto.

5. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of aholding-chuck, a fetdingchuck normally tending to open by reason of itsinherent elasticity, means for moving the latter in the axial line ofthe former, and means for opening the holding chuck when thefeeding-chuck has reached one limit of its movement'and for closing itwhen the feeding-chuck is at or near the other limit of its movement.

6. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of a chuck,a sleeve surrounding the same, a stationary support, one or moretoggle-joints, each consisting of two pivoted arms connecting the sleevewith the support, a flat bearing surface upon one of the arms of eachtoggle-joint, and a device for extending said joint or joints andresting upon said surface.

7. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of a chuck,a sleeve surrounding the same, a support, one or more toggle-joints,each consisting of two pivoted arms, one arm of each of which isconnected with the sleeve and thevother connected with the supportthrough a iexible extension, and means for extending said joint orjoints against the tension of said flexible extension.

8. The combination, substantially as 'hereinbefore set forth, of aholding-chuck, a sleeve for closing said chuck, means for operating saidsleeve, a feeding-chuck, a sleeve for operating the same, means formoving the lastnamed sleeve longitudinally upon the said chuck, andmeans for moving said feedingchuck and its sleeve together,substantially as described.

9. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, in awire-feeding machine, with a holding-chuck, a sleeve for operating thesame, and one or more toggle-joints, each consisting of two arms pivotedto each other, of a feeding-chuck, a sleeve surrounding the same, aspindle for said chuck extending beyond the end of said sleeve, ayielding spring tending to force said sleeve upon the chuck to close it,and means for forcing said sleeve toward the projecting end of saidspindle, thereby compressing said spring and permitting said chuck toopen.

l0. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of arotating and a longitudinally-movable chuck located in the same axialline, a spindle attached to the longitudinally-movable chuck, a collarfor moving said spindle, a sleeve extending through said collar,equilibrium-springs tending to hold said collar in a given position uponsaid sleeve, means for moving said sleeve longitudinally, a stop forlimiting the movement of said collar without interrupting the movementof said sleeve, a devicefor operating the rotating-chuck, and meansmoving with said sleeve for operating said device after said collar 'hasbeen arrested, substantially as described.

11. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of thechucks D andH, the forks b2 and j for operating the same, the rod c',the sleeve A upon which said forks are supported, and the adjustablestops a3 and b3.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 1st day ofOctober, A.

JAMES H. GERRY. Witnesses:

DANL. W. EDGEcoMB, CHARLES A. TERRY.

IOC

